Help needed fitting 3VZE head gasket

[Toyo Truck]

Hey guys,

latest development in my mates 3VZE saga

Got the heads completely reconditioned by a motor place in QLD.
All completely cleaned with cams and valves rebuilt. looks sex.

When we took the heads off we noticed alot of corrosion deposits
on the inside of the water jackets in the block, and also at the base of
the valley. looks bad.

Today we have cleaned 99% (as much as is humanly poss) of this poo out of the water jackets, and we ran about 1000 litres of cold and HOT water through the jackets whilst dislodging the remainder of the poo with screwys and custom coat-hanger wire.

So now that that is pretty much good to go, we are thinking about putting
the block and head back together.

We have done most other repairs, but never a head gasket...
What is the best technique for preparation of the head gasket surfaces
(both block and head) as well as what to do with the gasket itself. Do we use gasket goo
or grease or anything, it doesn't say much in our workshop manual.
We have all gaskets and parts required, just need to know the best way
to get it together 100% working reliably.

Any replies are MOST appreciated.
Don't wanna stuff this up.

Cheers,
Bart

[BradW]

What car is this in.
I did the heads in my V6 4runner (3vze) late last year. If I never have to do it again it will be too soon .
If the heads have been reco'ed then you wont need to do anything to them before you put them on.
Make sure the deck of the block is clean. Remove all of the old gasket. I rubbed the deck of the block down with an oil stone wet with WD40 just to clean it right up. You wont need to use anything on the gasket, just make sure everything is clean and dry and torque the heads down in the right sequence and to correct torque specs.
Another tip, don't tip the heads over to look at the combustion chambers after you get them back from being reco'ed as the shims can fall off the valves and you will have to reset the valve clearances . Yes, this is coming from experience .

After you have it all back together, flush out the cooling and oil systems too, just to make sure there isn't any gunk in there that might cause problems.

Good luck with it.

[Toyo Truck]

It is in a V6 4-Runner yes.

Shims shouldn't be a worry for us as head was completely reassembled
except for the actual rocker covers bolted on top.
But we will certainly keep this in mind now you have warned us.

IS there any easier way to put this back together?
We have got extractors for the motor so this will make it easier for us,

Have you had any more issues with your 4runner V6 head gasket since?
How long did the previous head gasket last.

Cheers,
Bart

[BradW]

It is in a V6 4-Runner yes.

Shims shouldn't be a worry for us as head was completely reassembled
except for the actual rocker covers bolted on top.
But we will certainly keep this in mind now you have warned us.

Your lucky. I stripped a cam bearing retainer bolt putting the cams back in (yes this was after dropping a couple of shims/bucket assemblies off). This happened while torquing them down to the required 10 ft/lb. Went down the local bolt supply place and got a bottom tap to suit the thread and a longer bolt. Came home, retapped the hole, cut and fitted a new bolt, then stripped 2 more on the other cam .

IS there any easier way to put this back together?
We have got extractors for the motor so this will make it easier for us,

Yeah, pay someone to do it for you .
Seriously though, just take your time with it and you'll be right. When I did mine I started putting it back together at about 7pm on the friday night. Stripped the first cam bearing retainer bolt at about 1am Saturday morning and went to bed. Got up again at 7am and got back into it and was finished at about 10pm Saturday night.

Have you had any more issues with your 4runner V6 head gasket since?
How long did the previous head gasket last.

I did this in October last year, since then I haven't had any problems. Before that they were done at toyota about 5-6 years ago. The only issue I have had since the heads were done both times is an oil leak from the back of the rocker cover. I put that much silastic on it when I did it that I thought it would never leak, I was wrong .
I would also suggest replacing all the little coolant bypass lines while you have it apart, as well as timing belt and thermostat.
The cause of my last head gasket failure was overheating due to a split coolant bypass line.

Good luck with it and, as I said, take your time and you'll be right.